Effectiveness of LiuZiJue Qigong versus traditional core stability training for poststroke patients complicated with abnormal trunk postural control: study protocol for a single-center randomized controlled trial.

Background: Trunk function in stroke patients with hemiplegia is associated with respiration and core stability and is also found to be associated with balance and postural control and activities of daily living. LiuZiJue Qigong (LQG) is a traditional Chinese method of fitness based on breath pronunciation. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical efficacy of LQG and traditional core stability training in the treatment of stroke patients with abnormal trunk posture.

Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration in patients with previous abdominal biliary tract operations.

Background: A history of abdominal biliary tract surgery has been identified as a relative contraindication for laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE), and there are very few reports about laparoscopic procedures in patients with a history of abdominal biliary tract surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes of 227 consecutive patients with previous abdominal biliary tract operations at our institution between December 2013 and June 2019. A total of 110 consecutive patients underwent LCBDE, and 117 consecutive patients underwent open common bile duct exploration (OCBDE).

Instant analgesic effect of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy on primary dysmenorrhoea according to functional magnetic resonance imaging: study protocol for a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Primary dysmenorrhoea (PDM) is defined as a series of pain-dominated symptoms during and after menstruation without organic lesions. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and oral contraceptives are usually recommended as first-line therapy for the clinical treatment of PDM, but their widespread long-term application is controversial. Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) has been widely applied in musculoskeletal rehabilitation because of its secure and noninvasive characteristics and its confirmed effect in improving pain symptoms.

Expression of microRNA-214 and galectin-3 in peripheral blood of patients with chronic heart failure and its clinical significance.

Expression of microRNA (miR)-214 and galectin-3 (Gal-3) in peripheral blood of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and its clinical significance were investigated. A total of 50 cases of CHF patients, diagnosed and treated in Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital from January 2017 to March 2018, were the study group and 30 healthy subjects who underwent physical examination during the same period were the control group. Concentration of serum Gal-3 was detected by ELISA and the expression of miR-214 in serum was detected by RT-qPCR.

Mechanical stretch activates glycometabolism-related enzymes via estrogen in C C myoblasts.

Moderate exercise improves glycometabolic disorder and type 2 diabetes mellitus in menopausal females. So far, the effect of exercise-induced estrogen on muscular glycometabolism is not well defined. The current study was designed to explore the effect of mechanical stretch-induced estrogen on glycometabolism in mouse C C myoblasts.

MCPIP1 inhibits Hepatitis B virus replication by destabilizing viral RNA and negatively regulates the virus-induced innate inflammatory responses.

Monocyte chemotactic protein-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1) is an inflammatory regulator in immune response. Recently, MCPIP1 has also been identified as a host antiviral factor against certain virus infection including human immunodeficiency virus, dengue virus and hepatitis C virus. However, whether MCPIP1 could restrict the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV), a DNA pararetrovirus belonging to Hepadnaviridae family, has not been investigated.

Association between changes in QRS width and echocardiographic responses to cardiac resynchronization therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Numerous studies have illustrated the association of QRS width with the incidence of echocardiographic response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). This study aimed to summarize the observational studies regarding the magnitude of change in QRS width between responders and nonresponders to CRT.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched for relevant studies investigating the changes of QRS width with the incidence of echocardiographic response to CRT from inception till May 2019.

Diffuse myocardial fibrosis and the prognosis of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in Chinese patients: a cohort study.

Evidence regarding the relationship between diffuse myocardial fibrosis and the prognosis of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) was limited. Therefore, this study set out to investigate whether diffuse myocardial fibrosis was independently related to the prognosis of failure with reduced ejection fraction in Chinese patients after adjusting for other covariates. The present study was a cohort study.

Effects of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy on spasticity of upper-limb agonist/antagonist muscles in patients affected by stroke: a randomized, single-blind clinical trial.

Background: the effects of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) were assessed on agonist/antagonist muscles in stroke patients with elbow spasticity, the duration of effects and influence on function.

Methods: patients were randomly assigned into groups: control (A, n = 25), rESWT on agonist muscles (B, n = 27) and rESWT on antagonist muscles (C, n = 30) groups. Conventional physical therapy was given to three groups for 3 weeks, six times a week, and besides, rESWT was given at 4-day intervals for five consecutive treatments, B received rESWT on agonist muscles and C received rESWT on antagonist muscles.

Association of Interleukin-23R Gene Polymorphisms with Behcet's Disease Susceptibility: A Meta-Analysis of Case-control Studies.

Background: The pathological mechanisms associated with the occurrence and development of Behcet's disease (BD) are not yet known. Two large genome-wide association surveys revealed an association between interleukin (IL)-23R single nucleotide polymorphism and BD. This study aimed to investigate the association between IL-23R gene polymorphisms and BD susceptibility.

Nerve Injury-Induced Neuronal PAP-I Maintains Neuropathic Pain by Activating Spinal Microglia.

Pancreatitis-associated proteins (PAPs) display multiple functions in visceral diseases. Previous studies showed that the expression level of PAP-I was low in the DRG of naive rats but was expressed after peripheral nerve injury. However, its role in neuropathic pain remains unknown.

The Metabolic Profiles in Hematological Malignancies.

Leukemia is one of the most aggressive hematological malignancies. Leukemia stem cells account for the poor prognosis and relapse of the disease. Decades of investigations have been performed to figure out how to eradicate the leukemia stem cells.

Notch1 and PI3K/Akt signaling blockers DAPT and LY294002 coordinately inhibit metastasis of gastric cancer through mutual enhancement.

Purpose: Blockade of either Notch1 or PI3K/Akt pathway inhibits metastasis of gastric cancer. However, whether blockade of both pathways coordinately exerts such an effect remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of combined treatment with Notch1 signaling blocker DAPT and PI3K/Akt signal blocker LY294002 on metastasis of gastric cancer.

A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Taoren Honghua Jian granule in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Introduction: Stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) is a common clinical style in patients with coronary artery disease. Inflammation and immune injury in SCAD have been proven. Current interventions can relieve patients' symptoms, but none are stable to improve the immune damage significantly.

Effects of a 3D-printed orthosis compared to a low-temperature thermoplastic plate orthosis on wrist flexor spasticity in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two kinds of wrist-hand orthosis on wrist flexor spasticity in chronic stroke patients.

Design: This is a randomized controlled trial.

Setting: The study was conducted in a rehabilitation center.

Relationship of gender and age on thyroid hormone parameters in a large Chinese population.

Objective This study aimed to present the impact of age and gender on thyroid hormone levels in a large Chinese population with sufficient iodine intake. Subjects and methods A total of 83643 individuals were included and were stratified by age and gender. The median, 2.

23,24-Dihydrocucurbitacin B promotes lipid clearance by dual transcriptional regulation of LDLR and PCSK9.

23,24-Dihydrocucurbitacin B (designated as C95 in this article) is a cucurbitane triterpenoid that has been shown to possess a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-HIV-1 activities etc. In this study, we investigated the effects of 23,24-dihydrocucurbitacin B on lipid regulation. We showed that 23,24-dihydrocucurbitacin B (1-5 μM) dose-dependently promoted DiI-LDL uptake in HepG2 cells by upregulating low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) protein.

Nomogram to predict the prognosis of parotid gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma: a population-based study of 1306 cases.

Background: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is a common cancer in the oral salivary gland malignancy, which mainly occurs in the parotid gland. The aim of this study is to identify independent prognostic factors and establish a nomogram model for parotid gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma (P-MEC) patients using the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Method: Patients with P-MEC were selected from between 2004 and 2015.

Mechanical stretch enhances sex steroidogenesis in CC skeletal muscle cells.

Skeletal muscle contains estrogens and estrogen synthesis-related enzymes. However, it has not been reported whether myoblasts cultured in vitro also express these enzymes. The purpose of the current study was to address these issues and to explore the effects of mechanical stretch on the enzyme system.

Effects of a High-fat Meal on the Pharmacokinetics of the VEGFR Inhibitor Fruquintinib: A Randomized Phase I Study in Healthy Subjects.

Purpose: Fruquintinib is a potent and highly selective oral small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and demonstrates promising activity against a broad spectrum of cancer types. The objective of the study was to investigate the tolerability and effect of high-fat food on the pharmacokinetic profile of a fruquintinib capsule in healthy Chinese subjects.

Methods: Healthy Chinese male subjects aged between 18 and 45 years were enrolled in the study.

Hypervalent Iodine(III)-Mediated Tosyloxylation of 4-Hydroxycoumarins.

An efficient approach was developed for synthesis of 3-tosyloxy-4-hydroxycoumarins under mild conditions by using Koser's reagents. The reaction tolerated various functional groups, and the products served as useful aromatic building blocks. Additionally, a plausible mechanism via iodonium ylide was proposed, and the oral anticoagulant Warfarin was synthesized in good yield.

evaluation of the subchronic systemic toxicity of akermanite bioceramic for bone regeneration following ISO standard methods.

Although the akermanite (CaMgSiO) bioceramic has been confirmed to possess favorable osteogenic activity, until now little was known about its subchronic systemic toxicity, which is important for determining the biocompatibility and the clinical applications of the material in bone implants. In this study, the subchronic systemic toxicity of akermanite bioceramic was for the first time investigated according to well-accepted ISO standard methods. Following the method, healthy adult Wistar rats were injected with certain amounts of extracts of akermanite bioceramic that was intended to simulate the ionic product during the degradation of the material when implanted into the body.

A high mutation rate of immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region gene associates with a poor survival and chemotherapy response of mantle cell lymphoma patients.

Immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) gene mutation status is a biomarker for the prognosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, whether it is associated with the diagnosis, staging, and prognosis of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) remains to be determined.The IGHV gene mutations of 52 MCL patients were determined by DNA sequencing and compared with published IGHV germline sequences.DNA sequence alignment of IGHV variable regions with published IGHV germline sequences showed that the coincidence rate was 94% to 100%.

Role of Liposome Size, Surface Charge, and PEGylation on Rheumatoid Arthritis Targeting Therapy.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, progressive autoimmune disease. The vascular permeability of inflamed joints in RA makes it a natural candidate for passive targeting, similar to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect in solid tumors. Thus, various therapeutic drugs have been encapsulated in nanocarriers to achieve longer in vivo circulation times and improve RA targeting.